The Gates Foundation has urged the Nigerian government to significantly increase funding for health programmes aimed at tackling the growing crisis of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country.

The foundation recalled that in 2024, it committed $8.6 billion to global health, with a growing focus on cancer prevention and NCDs.

The Foundation’s Country Director, Uche Amaonwu, stated this at a one-day Roundtable Forum held in Abuja recently, where global health leaders, life sciences executives, and governments gather to strengthen health systems and expand access to care.
He expressed the Foundation’s commitment to partner with the federal government on influencing policies on health financing, pandemic preparedness, and integrating NCD care into primary healthcare.

“We’ve seen a rising burden of non-communicable diseases, even in Nigeria. This is why the roundtable is charting a new path,” he said.

According to him, the Foundation is mobilising life sciences partners to co-invest in health systems. “The principle is simple: durable transformation. We are moving away from single projects to coordinated support,” he explained.

He also highlighted the link between health and poverty: “Families sell assets, cut back on education, and sacrifice opportunities just to pay medical bills. Access to health must be treated as a foundation of prosperity.”

In his remarks, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, pointed to the financial burden of illness, saying that with 70% of health spending coming directly from citizens’ pockets and only 9.5% of Nigerians covered by insurance, over one million people are pushed into poverty every year by medical bills.

He highlighted the importance of collaboration in tackling the crisis, noting that: “Collaboration, innovation, and private sector participation are essential if we are to cut the death and give our people the health outcomes they deserve.”